Learn five signs and use them
Hello, thank you, sorry, please, your name. Five signs is enough to change an encounter completely.
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Why it lands
A deaf person's daily experience is one of near-total linguistic isolation in public — everyone communicates in a language they cannot hear, and interactions are conducted through gesture and repetition. Five signs will not make you a signer, but the act of having learnt any is read immediately as effort rather than tolerance, and deaf people describe it as the difference between being served and being met.
How
Learn the fingerspelling alphabet and a handful of greetings from a deaf-led organization rather than a random video. Use them. Keep a pen and paper to hand as well, which remains the most practical fallback.
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A written list of what else helps in the same situation.
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